“You don’t need a title to be a leader”

Earlier this week we brought to you five traits that many believe to be the most important for any leader.  For some, those traits are elusive and they need situations where they are able to grow and develop.

In the Greater Pittsburgh Area, there are a plethora of opportunities for children and adults to explore and expand their leadership skills and abilities. Below are 6 different leadership opportunities that children and adults can both utilize to improve their leadership capabilities.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania

The United Way is dedicated to helping change the lives of people with critical needs.  More specifically, their new Next Gen program is geared towards helping children in middle and high schools by pairing them with a mentor.  The middle school mentor program aims to help students improve their attendance rates and grades, get them interested in school, and most importantly, give them a person they can talk to and have fun with.  The ultimate goal is to show them that college, or any kind of secondary education, is a possibility with hard work and determination.

While this might not seem like a leadership specific program, any time you are able to help children, you are learning and imparting valuable leadership skills for yourself and for your mentee. 

If you’d like to check out United Way’s programs you can visit their website here to learn more

YMCA of Pittsburgh

The Y has made it its mission to strengthen the communities they are a part of through their youth development programs.  These programs cover areas from national youth government programs that teach teens about democracy and government to programs that help young African American teens set personal higher educational and career goals for themselves.  The skills that these programs teach are vital to improving our children’s futures and developing our future leaders.

For more information on these youth leadership programs, check out their website here.

Pittsburgh Cares

Pittsburgh Cares’ Youth Engaged in Service (YES) program is a great opportunity for children from the ages of 5-21 to learn positive leadership development skills.  They partner with schools, community organizations, youth groups, and all types of educators and provides them with the resources to inspire young people to get involved and learn about social issues and how to respond to and become a positive part of a solution. 

If you are interested, for yourself, or a young person you know is interested, more information about their youth programs can be found on their website.

Leadership Development Initiative

Leadership Development Initiative is a program that helps rising Pittsburgh leaders actively engage with their community and neighborhoods.  It builds leadership skills, is a great networking tool, and helps leaders and businesses to retain talent.  LDI is a 9 month commitment for high-potential young professionals.  Through this program, young professionals are able to grow and develop their leadership skills while establishing and nurturing relationship with other professionals that will benefit them throughout the career.

If you are a young professional interested in learning how to become a better leader for your business or in your community and want to make lasting connections with other leaders, visit LDI’s page here to learn about how you can get involved.

CORO Pittsburgh:  Women in Leadership

It is very important that there are leadership programs to inspire women, and young girls, to fulfill their potential to become amazing and successful leaders in their communities and businesses.  CORO Pittsburgh has a wonderful program called “Women in Leadership” that is devoted specifically to career women “from different sectors who are interested in civic engagement and motivated to strive toward the full inclusion of women in business, politics, government, arts, education, philanthropy and community organizing”.  Within this organization they learn how to better express their values, lead with authenticity, and learn how to integrate the work, home, and community lives.  The best part is that they are part of a larger support network of women that are committed to positively creating and changing opportunities for women in our region. 

You will gain incalculable knowledge and experience about gender and race equality in the work force, leadership qualities, how to collaborate successfully, and engage with your community.  To find out more and get involved, you can visit their website here.

L3 Leadership

Here at Babb, Inc. we are proud to be a sponsor of L3 Leadership, a community based group that helps to develop all levels of leaders grow to their maximum potential.  We host monthly “Learning to Lead” breakfasts where leaders from the Pittsburgh area come and speak about leadership and how to effectively grow as a leader in your community.  They also have small “mastermind” groups that meet throughout the month to study new and effective leadership ideas, inspire each other, and help each other stick to their goals.  They also promote and provide service opportunities and other leaderships events that all members are encouraged and invited to join.

We have previously interviewed L3 Leadership’s founder, Doug Smith about the importance of being and having a mentor.  If you are interested in learning more, you can do so here, or you can sign up for any of the upcoming breakfasts that we will be hosting here at Babb, Inc.

Regardless of whether or not you are a natural leader or someone that needs some extra encouraging, participating in leadership programs can help one sharpen their skill set, network with other professionals, and give back to the community.